Category: Rock’n’roll columns

DRUMMER Brian Tichy and guitarist Rob Caggiano have quit Whitesnake and Anthrax respectively on a seismic news day for hard rock and heavy metal.

Tichy, who dislocated a shoulder in a mountain biking accident before New Years, wants to devote more time to his Something Unto Nothing (SUN) project with Sass Jordan – but bassist Michael Devin will continue to be a member of both Whitesnake and SUN.

Brian Tichy

Whitesnake vocallist David Coverdale said in a statement: “We are truly sad to see him go, but, we fully support the pursuit of his ambitions and sincerely wish him well. His fearless drumming brought a relentless driving edge and to our music that we fully embraced. Good luck, Brian. May the SUN shine brightly on you!!”

Caggiano, meanwhile, wishes to become a fulltime producer – an area where he has already had some success. In his statement, he said: “I’m extremely proud of my time in Anthrax.

“This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make, but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now. I’ve always been one to follow my heart in everything that I do and while this might be one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, it feels like the right one for me at this time.”

Anthrax later announced Jon Donias, formerly of Shadows Fall, would tour in place of Caggiano.

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BLACK Sabbath have completed recording on their new album, entitled 13, and released in June.

Guitarist Tony Iommi says it’s the first completely sober album the Birmingham pioneers have done. It’s also the first album the band has done with singer Ozzy Osborne since Never Say Die in 1978. There are 16 songs, Rick Rubin was the producer and the work was done in Los Angeles.

Sabbath also have Australian and New Zealand tour dates coming up, with Shihad in support. They are:

CONFUSING lineup changes in the Queensryche and Ratt camps. Drummer Bobby Blotzer initially quit the latter to join Geoff Tate’s version of the former, only to recant.

Bobby Blotzer

Upon signing with Cleopatra Records, the Tate-fronted band announced a line-up of Rudy Sarzo on bass, Kelly Gray on guitar, Robert Sarzo on guitar and Simon Wright on drums.

A statement said Blotzer had returned to Ratt as “as an integral part of the band that made him famous.”

The Todd Le Torre fronted version of Queensryche, meanwhile, plans to release new material in the coming months.

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JUST days after it was revealed Angels singer Doc Neeson has a brain tumour, bassist Chris Bailey was placed in paliative care with jaw cancer.

Bailey, also a founding member of Gangajang, has been battling the disease for some time. “John and Rick Brewster, Dave Gleeson, Nick Norton and Sam Brewster are deeply saddened to learn that our bass player, Chris Bailey, has an aggressive, life threatening cancer and is now undergoing palliative chemotherapy,” the band said in a statement.

Sam Brewster, son of John, will fill in on bass for upcoming dates.

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OUR gig of the month was Stryper, with special guests, at the House Of Blues in Anaheim during NAMM.

The band has just released a well-received EP, the Sound Mountain sessions, but the experienced Crane obviously is unsatisfied with his current situation.

He issued a statement saying: “With much thought and regret, I am resigning as the bass player of Lynch Mob…

“Thank you to all of the fans for your support of the band and ‘Sound Mountain Sessions’… It has been a wild two-year ride that I wouldn’t change for anything!”

There is speculation that Crane is about to join a supergroup formed by vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, although Turner recently played this down

DOKKEN are previewing 11 new songs from their Broken Bones album, due September 25, on iTunes.

The album comes as all original members of the 80s metal heroes – aside from singer Don Dokken – prepare to release their own new project, Tooth & Nail.

Unusually, drummer Mick Brown is in both bands. Tooth & Nail are rounded out by bassist Jeff Pilson and guitarist George Lynch while the remaining members of Dokken are guitarist Jon Levin and bassist Sean McNabb.

MOTLEY Crue will play on despite vocalists Vince Neil breaking his foot during a show at Cuyuhoga Falls, Ohio.

Neil, 51, Tweeted after the show that medicos had diagnosed a broken foot and that he would have x-rays in Toronto. The next day, he Tweeted: “Ok this sucks but doctor just said I broke two bones in my foot!”

He posted the accompanying picture.
One report said the injury was suffered when Neil tripped on a piece of onstage equipment. In keeping with the Crue’s 1981 song “On With The Show”, Neil completed the performance, which is part of a national tour with KISS.

Bassist Nikki Sixx Tweeted on Friday: “Yes we are playing tonight(and the rest of the tour)even though @TheVinceNeil has two broken bones in his foot. He is a trooper.”

* IT seems the illness which placed Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen in hospital is not as recent as the band has made out.

Reports emerged on August that Van Halen had undergone “emergency surgery” for diverticulitis, an inflammation and infection of the intestines. That statement gave the distinct impression this was a breaking story.

But the latest news indicates that EVH was in hospital for three weeks recovering from the surgery and is already home. The band has indefinitely postponed its November Japanese dates and Edward has to spend six months recovering.

* KINGS Of The Sun drummer Clifford Hoad has announced he will be the band’s new singer.

Hoad has been searching for around two months for a vox to replace that of his brother Jeffrey, who is no longer interested in show business. He announced on the band’s Facebook page he would be assuming the duties himself.

Lee invites fans onstage to ride the kit, which performs a 360 degree manouvre on a rollercoaster-like circular track. But engineer Scott King says Lee stole the idea, which he first pitched to him in 1991.

King says Lee turned down the idea 21 years ago and then used it in 2012 without any recognition or payment. He’s threatening to sue.

* ROSE Tattoo have been confirmed as support for Slash on his Australian tour this month.

Evidently, Angry Anderson is going to take a break from his burgeoning political career to renew an alliance with the former Guns N’Roses guitarist.

“It’s a ridiculous thing to cause controversy and get people to pay attention.

“If it was really the Rock N’Roll Hall Of Fame, how come Deep Purple’s not in it? How come KISS is not in it?

“What’s the first song every kid learns to play? “Smoke On The Water”. But they’re not good enough to be in it? I could list 1000 slights.

“It’s really not based upon anything. A sports hall of fame is based on stats. What have you done? What have you accomplished? How many goals have you made, how many hits have you made? How many home runs? Whatever.”

Lukather, who recently toured Australia with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, continues: “Music, it’s subjective. Who’s the prettiest girl in the room – we might as well have that contest. I don’t really pay any attention to it because it’s way under my radar.

“I think that its credibility is going quickly. It’s unfortunate because they try and get these people who have broken up and are rivals back together again. Many times, they should say ‘let’s just do the gig and have a laugh’.

“Often there’s deep-seated stuff that I’m not privy to, there’s reasons why people don’t want to be in the same room as each other,.

“You don’t go back to your first wife and go ‘hey, how about a little fuck for old time’s sake?’ Maybe sometimes it’ll work – most times it won’t.

“So I can’t make any opinion on Guns N’Roses or any other band that has chosen to do it or not to do it.

“Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame is what it is. It’s one man’s opinion, a room full of 12 angry journalists that wish they were rock stars and they’re not.

“I mean, really, look at some of the people who are in and some of the people who are out. It’s baffling. What’s the criteria.”

Lukather also revealed Toto would reform for a World Tour next year (see video), talking bluntly about previous tours which led him into depression and alcoholism.

Compiled by STEVE MASCORDDIESEL will drive your dollar twice as far next month following the announcement of a second show on the Rock N Roll Tour for the Hordem Pavilion on Wednesday August 16.
What’s more, lasi time we looked there was still a cuppla seats left for the first gig on August 15. So be the first on your block to go utterly deaf after just two nights out!While you’re at it. cop the mighty Georgia Satellites and gee-tar history make: Alvin Lee for absolutely no extra charge.
“I saw this song on MTV – I don’t have it at home but I was looking at it at a friend’s place – and I saw this song I really liked.” an anecdotal Satellites frontman Dan Baird told Loudmouth from (where else?) Atlanta, Georgia.
Then at the end of it it said it was Johnny Diesel and I thought ‘so we’re touring with them – cool’.
“You don’t know what a relief it is to be touring with a band you actually like.
“Wc toured with one we didn’t like once, but I don’t want to name them because that’s ugly”
It appears the nasty execs from Electra have banned the advance release here to co-incide with the tour of a single from the Satellites’ upcoming third LP. the reason being such a release would “interfere with the US market. Sure, and President Marcos may coach Canterbury.
Baird says the Satellites will play ten songs in their 40 minute supporting set on the tour – three from their debut, three from Open All Night, three from the newy and “Hippy Hippy Shake”, their contribution to the Cocktail soundtrack.
Once again, Loudmouth will collect its filthy, stinking pile of scurge-ridden possessions and hit the road, destined for the Rock n Roll Tour’s Oz debut at Adelaide Thebarton Theatre on August 2.
Alvin Lee better change his hotel pseudonym before he arrives, or else he’s gonna get some phone calls from working class kids wanting to speak to Jimmy.
Speaking of which, what are the chances of Mr Barnes (whose pseudodnym might be Mr Lee) not getting up with the Diesels in Sydney? About the chance of Slash being a virgin, methinx.
For all those people calling OTS this week. no. Alvin Lee is not a former member of the Chipmunks-
No, I don’t know if the Chipmunks have broken up. Go awav.

MUCH of the new release interest this week revolves around Black & White, a group of rap vocalists and HR musicians who stage a high frequency audio war on vinyl. Aside from saying members of Guns N’Roses and Motley Crue are playing and a bunch of rappers are singing and that’s where the name comes from, we can’t tell you anything more ’cause they won’t tell us!

LETTERS TO THE ‘EAD ‘ITTER.
Dear Loudmouth,
Last week I saw a Sydney band that’s been doing the circuit for a few years. I’ve been hearing about the band’s great guitarist for a while now. Everything I heard about this guy was soon confirmed. I’m a little disappointed at the lack of recognition this fellow’s getting.
I spoke to the guitarist after the show. His name is Lorry Rayment.
I would like to see something on the guitarist in your magazine. I would really appreciate some photos to be published.
Perry Richards (Bankstown)Loudmouth now has enough letters like this to build a life-size paper mache opera house. How many relatives you got, Laurie? Funny how they all seem to be from Bankstown.. . Hahaha. Or. if they’re all real punters, why haven’t we written a story about you. Good question, that…

Don’t forget. White Lion’s “Little Fighter”, a tribute to the Rainbow Warrior, is out now as a single, while the great cover art is enough to tell us that there’s another WL LP on the shelves, this time Big Game.
• Roxus guitarist Joe Cool lists “writing a symphony” as one of his major ambitions!
• Remember when there were ethics which stated if you were a journalist and you worked as a public relations officer for a band, you were automatically excluded from writing about them?
After all, you’re hardly gonna be very impartial if good press is likely to line your pockets, are you. And beneath all the glitz and hype, it is still journalism, not cheap promotion of personalities.
Why the f * “k, then, is Guns n’Roses band publicist Arlett Vereecke writing interviews with Axl Rose for magazines? And why is she selling the stories?
I’ll give this,caper away the day I pay for press releases.
• If you’ll remember, the last (spectacular, brilliant) Great White album was called Once Bitten. The follow-up is Twice Shy, and it’s already up around 16 on the US charts. Lemme tell ya, the single “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” is so good its in sell-your-grandmother’s-underwear-on-the-black- market-to-get-the-money territory. It’s that good.
• For those with a distinct AOR bent. Richard Marx gig at the Enmore Theatre (where? Enmore Road. Where? Enmore) on August 25 shapes up as a biggy.
“Satisfied” recently went to number one in the US, keeping up his huge profile since all those hits off his debut album.
In case you didn’t know. Ricky wrote Robin Zander and Ann Wilson’s “Surrender To Me” and co-wrote/produced Vixen‘s breakthrough “Edge Of A Broken Heart”.
• Now, I know it’s a case of you either love or hate Marx, but personally I think he’s one of the few believable AOR stars around at the moment, with a voice as convincing as Lou Gramm‘s and a freakish knack of writing quality songs.

HARD rock has taken new territory with the announcement that Penshurst Hotel will host a booming bill this Sunday November 26.Apocalypse, Addictive, Detriment and Enticer will all play “the Den’ in what is hoped will be regular hard rock night there.
Apocalypse, which plays originals plus covers by Metallica, Anthrax, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, is expected to take a well-earned break following Sunday’s gig.
Conversely, Addictive plays its first show since recording a demo tape which will be on sale at the show.
For the cover charge of $5.00, you also get young lions Detriment and Enticer.

.WILD times indeed are expected backstage when Guns N’Roses, Kings Of The Sun and The Angels team up at the Ent Cent.
Guns N’Roses’ livers are wanted by medical science, The Angels don’t always live up to their name and Kings’ are known to invite the odd girlie back stage for a drink or twenty.
Would make for an inviting pictorial. Where’s Tony Mott?

.ONE Sydney outfit currently chasing management is Wrecking Crew. They play “punchy, commercial” hard rock and were formed by English-born guitarist Brenton Dehn in October 1986
They claim to “have a purpose of re-establishing the energy of live rock’n’roll that has sadly given way to DJs and concept bands.”Here, here!
Wrecking Crew will join Numatic, Starlett and Running Blind in a major gig at the Seven Hills Inn this Friday November 25.
The bill is Running Blind, which hits the stage at 7.3Opm, Numatix from 8.45pm, Starlet at 10 and Wrecking Crew at 11.1 5pm.
Numatix are a fourpiece act who play covers from Robert Palmer, John Cougar Mellencamp, Georgia Satellites and more, plus originals.
Door Charge is six bucks.

NEXT big thing dept: This one’s not much of a gamble because they already are big things. A bunch of middle Americans called Britny Fox, who have an album riding high on the US charts and are knocking them dead in support dates.
Except them to get noticed here (finally) in a couple of months.

.NICE quote from one Lenny Wolf, lead mimmicker from Led Zeppelin clones Kingdom Come
“I don’t think about “how can I be original?” Wolf says.
“Kids don’t give a fuck. There’s so many other bands. Let them be original”. Talk about digging your own grave (or someone elses. . .).ENTRIES rolling in for the “Heavy Headline’ competition aimed at renaming this here collection of barbed paragraphs. Suggestions so far include “Headbangers Galore’, “Metalbilia”. “Watch Tower”, “Thrash’n’Burn and “Rock Block”.
Because we’ve got so many prizes coming in, we may extend the comp a week or two. This week we have the latest offerings from Leppard up for grabs, compliments of PolyGram. These will be added to the reams of previous prizes.
To top that off, the second and third place-getters will also get these three albums on cassette. Not bad huh? More next week.

.RELEASES:OK! Bulletboys and Night Ranger have foUnd their way to our shelves in the metal Christmas rush. The title of BulletBoys debut single wins chuckle of the week. It’s called. . . ahem. . . “Smooth Up In Ya”. The self-titled long-player was produced by Ted Templeman, who has David Lee Roth and Van Halen to his credit.
Night Ranger’s Man In Motion LP and single ‘I Did It For Love” are also out any day now. And The Georgia Satellites hope to do what they couldn’t from their last album — have a hit single — with a cover of “Hippy Hippy Shake” from the Cocktail soundtrack. New KISS album Smashes, Thrashes and Hits and single “Let’s Put The X In Sex” due out in January.
This week we recommend: Reach For The Sky by Ratt, he rodents’ best ablum yet. Cop the groove of “Way Cool Jr.”, the sophistication of “City to City” and “I Want a Woman” and the class a couple of listens but well worth the $19 import price tag.
Review next week.
You’ll have to go to an import store to get the new Ozzy Osbourne album No Rest For The Wicked for a while yet, but it should be in your corner store for five bucks less before long.
The Europe live video is still being released here later this year, despite their decision not to tour. The KISS Crazy Nights video has been rejected at this stage, mainly because it has just three songs on it and because it would cost up to $30 if produced here. They’re hoping to import a whole heap of them, though.
LEPPARD’s Hysteria video is out.
Available here as a widely distributed import is the debut album from a US band called Winger. Lead singeris Dale Shearer, with John Ferguson on drums and Michael O’Connor and Alan Mclndoe on guitars. Well, not really. Apparently worth a listen though.
Alsoon the import front, the English pressing of Def Leppard’s latestin a long line of 12” extravaganzas, “Armageddon It” has got Aussie mainstream distribution.
PolyGram have launched a plethora of new radio adds for Hysteria. Smells like a tour to us.

OLD Lemmy from Motorhead had an interesting view of the Donnington disaster, in which two people were trampled to death earlier this year during the annual rock festival, when we spoke to him last week.
“I think two out of half a million aint bad really,” said Lemmy from California, where Motorhead are winding up a national tour.
“We lost more than that in the second world war. It cost us 200,000 just to get on the beach at France, and that was from about the same amount of people.”
The boys will have a break now before beginning work on a new album. “We haven’t written a new song yet, not one,” Lemmy proclaimed.ANOTHER new band to hit the local live scene is Silverthorn. The boys opened for Enticer the other night at the Sutherland Royal and look set for a few weeks of hard gigging.
In case you haven’t heard Enticer, they play a tasty combination of covers from Metallica, Metal Church and Iron Maiden and original material.DEF Leppard’s new single worldwide will be “Rocket”. The band has rernixed the song to an “acceptable length” and is planning to unleash it soon on an unsuspecting globe.
“It’s not exactly the sort of song you think of as a single, but we’ve remixed it and it sounds good,” said guitarist Steve Clark.Good to see HR acts going around promoting themselves wh press releases and stuff. When it comes to out of this world self-promotion, there’s nothing like your average Eathlings press release.
Earthlines were Kevin Borich‘s support on his recent Sydney dates and according to one recent release “it was not unusual to see record company and industry people hanging out backstage after the performance to talk to the boys about their future (which we all know will be bigger than BIG)”
Earthlings played recently Warilla Bowling Club. Rumour has it the boss of one of the world’s biggest record companies chartered the space shuttle and flew into Albion Park from New York, where a limousine took him to the Bowling Club. After the show he offered Earthlings two billion dollars, as many American Girls as they could handle and all the drugs in Columbia to sign with the company, but they rejected on personal grounds.
Only joshing. Keep up the good work boys.THIRD Poison single “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” is looking like their first US number one. It moved up from five to three stateside this week.
Guns N’ Roses “Welcome To The Jungle” moved up one spot to nine on the Cashbox chart.SO you thought the days of big outdoor concerts with humungous line-ups were over? Then you’re a raving looney because there’s a big one on just down the road in Wollongong next month.They were not at the Showground because it is in what is termed a residential area.
Hope they don’t expect Jon Stevens and the boys to be quiet!Noiseworks, Johnny Diesel & The Injectors, The Sunnyboys and The Bombers, supported by The Beefeaters and Imaginary Boys, will be playing thebig Illawarra Steelers concert at Wollongong Showground on
January 29.

AS for the ñdiculously hard working Diesels, Johnny and the boys will be on at the Revesby Roundhouse tonight, Banjos at Gladesville tomorrow night and Dee Why’s The Venue on Christmas Eve with Colour BWE and The Factory.After Coogee Beach, The Diesels will be joined by Sundogs on Boxing Day at the Kardomah. That’s if there’s anything left of the place after the Candy Harlots play there tomorrow night!
The Hard Ons plus Cosmic Psychos and Slush Puppies on Friday the 30th.Noisworks TouchLP has been certified platinum less than 4 weeks of release, according to CBS.

COMING DOWN ROSES (by Margaret Cott)

“I cant believe thata band that has a#1 album in America and is supposedly one of the biggest bands around at the moment could get this upset by a three line comment from an up and coming band in a free Sydney newspaper.” Well they can and they did, as speaker Jeffrey Hoad of Kings Of The Sun discovered when they supported Guns N’Roses at the Entertainment Centre last Saturday night. Booked to do a 45 minute set, the Kings had the set cut to 25 minutes, had half their production pulled (not that unusual in supports) and were told in no uncertain terms to ‘leave the stage’. Then the US Management confiscated all Kings members and guests’ Backstage Passes and ordered Out. Just because the boys told OTS in the interview published the week before that Rose Tatoo perhaps should have been accorded more credit for the kind of bad boy’ image that is so common today among LA bands like Guns and Motley Crue! Slash may never ‘say’ anything to OTS again, despite the flood of letters this particular free Sydney newspaper has received asking for a copy of Steve Mascord’s complete Slash interview transcript.